Can anyone give me a compelling argument why forcing out one of the more popular gametypes in favor of giving your guy hats and clothes is possibly a good idea?

Can anyone please tell me what substances the developers were using when they exchanged functionality (which has pissed off a lot of people, not just me) for cosmetics (which i've seen no one here give a **** about)?

It was more than just the 4th most popular gametype. It was also the only one that had teams of 9 and allowed for 18 player battles. And on a large map such as the ones in this game, only ground war can make for fast paced or even remotely exciting gameplay, map flow, and streak effectiveness, in no small part because it could handle a few players quitting without drastically affecting flow, something that completely ruins any 6v6 modes here both score, map, and team balance wise.

With so many routes to get from an objective to another on these maps, whats the point if there's no one to populate them and stabilize against constant spawn flipping and zero area control?

Considering that black ops 1 at least had face paint and perk-based appearance AS WELL AS ground war, its kind of sad that these developers couldnt figure out a middle ground. Which did you think would upset more people?

I wish it was there too...you're preaching to the choir. It was however the 4th playlist behind TDM, KC, and DOM.

As far as why and your reference to BO...my guess is the additions and changes done to the engine are at the borderline of what the 360 can handle and still maintain the frame rate. Things like lighting and sound design can eat up a lot of resources.

Honestly? The customization has more benefits for more people, so it's only logical it made it in rather than ground war. Besides the fact I think it's just a laggy mess, not everyone plays Groundwar. Only the people who play ground war would benefit, but everyone benefits from customization. What about the hardcore folks? Or the folks who only touch Cranked or SnR?

While I personally don't dig GW, I was still shocked to see it not return and I sympathize with you.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the tradeoffs of customization. Personally, I think its very irrelevant compared to a mode which can bring so much more to the game experience, and I dont pay attention to appearance at all during any point, but like you said there are intrinsic benefits someone (like a halo armor fanatic) would probably go for.

I can't see how ground war would negatively affect anyone in HC, cranked or SnR, however. Even if it was laggy as you said, it won't affect non-GW players at all whatsoever.

I stopped playing Groundwar a while back so I'm not nearly as passionate about the loss of the gamemode as you. I can certainly understand your frustration with the decision made.

I truly do think its a compromise forced on the 360 due to the fact they were more focused on the next-gen experience.

Before the release of Ghosts, I convinced myself not to compare this game with any past CoD's. When I expect something, I'm usually disappointed. Since I'm treating this game as a stand alone title, I've been pleasantly surprised.

Ground War makes sense on these big maps, but I would rather see the return of the War gamemode from WAW and COD3. Best objective game ever. Oh and GW isn't the 4th most played playlist, its behind TDM KC DOM SND at the very least. Those have been the core 4 since MW3.

You know ive never owned WaW, but I learned about the War type and it does sound pretty awesome. Can you imagine a game like that on siege or whiteout? would be epic compared to the 4v4s on those maps when people quit.